


Mistletoe

by i_cant_believe_its_not_bi



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror, Auror!Draco, Christmas Fluff, Drarry Holidays, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mild Cursing, Mild Language, Mistletoe, Not Epilogue Compliant, auror!Harry, holiday fic, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-03
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2019-02-09 23:46:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12899457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_cant_believe_its_not_bi/pseuds/i_cant_believe_its_not_bi
Summary: Two reluctant Auror partners plus Christmas plus a mistletoe? What could be better?





	Mistletoe

"Malfoy--"

"Quiet, Potter. Just…quiet." Malfoy interrupted next to Harry with a hand massaging his temple. They were waiting outside Head Auror Shacklebolt's office, who called them in after Harry distracted Malfoy with yet another argument and made them lose their culprit. They'd been searching for the last remaining Death Eater for five months now, and Harry messed up the only chance they had to catch him.

Harry knew that Kingsley would be okay with him - he was his favorite. But what Harry was worried about was Malfoy. He was already in danger of his job with being an ex-Death Eater, and this fuck up might be the final straw. Harry knew they were supposed to hate each other with their history, but he still felt a tug in his heart when Malfoy's face fell back at the train station.

Finally, the door next to Malfoy and Harry flung open, and Kingsley's voice floated out with a tinge of irritation, "Come in."

Harry took one last glance at Malfoy, whose face was covered with anxiety before he took a deep breath and took a step through the doorframe into the tiny office.

***

"Well, that didn't go as expected." Harry speculated, a little disappointed at the outcome of the meeting. The partners were now walking back to their shared office so they can start with their new cases, which now had nothing to do with investigation and had all to do with things they usually put the newbies on. Harry obviously protested as soon as Kingsley suggested it, but he stayed still on his order. So, Malfoy and Harry, two fifth-year investigative Aurors, have an upcoming assignment to find a mysteriously disappeared cat.

"What, little Saviour wasn't expecting to get punished as well? Hoping I would just get fired and you'd go on with your perfect day?" Malfoy sneered.

Harry stopped in his tracks, incredulous at the accusation, "Why in the world would I want you to get fired?" 

Malfoy stopped as well, stepping towards Harry with a resentful look, "Please, don't tell me you act so on impulse you didn't purposefully decide to distract me on the most important mission of our careers. You could be less obvious about your desire to see me go." Malfoy abruptly twisted around and continued walking towards their office.

Harry wanted to correct Malfoy, but he couldn't think of what to say. He couldn't just tell him that he's never been able to control himself around the other man - he was twenty-five after all, and Malfoy would just point out how he should have grown out of that years ago. Harry tried 'growing out of it,' but his obsession with getting some type of reaction out of Malfoy towards him has even intensified since their school days. It was irritating and had possibly cost the both of them their reputation within the Ministry.

So, Harry remorsefully followed Malfoy back to their office and quietly sat at his desk while Malfoy, with a deep scowl decorating his face, gathered their old lined up investigative cases for Kingsley to reassign.

"We…" Harry started with a soft voice as to not set Malfoy off again, who only emitted a frustrated sigh at Harry's voice and continued busying himself with organizing the papers strewn across his desk. "We should probably get going on that missing cat."

"Fucking hell," Malfoy muttered.

Harry agreed completely.

***

After an entire week of an invisible cat, a leaking roof, a floating muggle, and a noise complaint, it was finally Friday. Harry had never been more bored with his job and even debated getting out of bed early that morning to get to work on time. Being around Malfoy every second while the man was bored was so excruciatingly annoying. He would use that posh voice to complain every ten seconds about how they could be doing more exciting and dangerous things if it weren't for 'pestilent Potter.' Harry silently agreed with the man, although still could not stand the constant string of insults coming from his partner about the situation.

Harry decided to avoid his usual morning walk to the telephone booths and sleepily walked into his sitting room towards his floo. He could already tell this would be a bad day.

As soon as he stepped out of the sleek black Ministry floo, he collided with someone who suddenly appeared in front of him, "Merlin!" He shouted with irritation.

"Good morning, Potter," Malfoy replied brightly while brushing down the wrinkles on his Auror robes.

Harry flinched at his unusual tone, "Why so cheery, Malfoy?"

Malfoy's smirk intensified at the question, looking directly into Harry's eyes with his grey ones. "It's finally the end of this fucking disaster of a week."

Harry looked away from the piercing gaze, and muttered, "I can relate."

The two made their way to their office, Malfoy walking a few meters in front of Potter as usual, and as usual, Harry's eyes fell on Malfoy's infuriatingly attractive arse. "Why does it have to be attached to such a prick." He muttered to himself.

Once they arrived at their office, a single folder laid on Malfoy's desk. Harry sighed, not wanting to go through another work day like this, "I cannot wait to see what ridiculously simple task Kingsley is making us do today." Malfoy rolled his eyes, quickly grabbing the folder and opening it. Harry leaned against his own desk to watch Malfoy's full lips silently form the words he was reading from the contents of the folder. He bit his lip as an almost familiar feeling rushed through him, which he usually ignored. It was the same feeling he used to get whenever he saw Ginny during Quidditch practice, which dismayed Harry - he did not want evil asshole Malfoy to be associated with Ginny. But, whenever Harry watched Malfoy think through a case or help Harry fight and the man's guard dropped completely, the feeling would return.

It was infuriating.

"Potter." Malfoy snapped, placing the open folder on his desk. Harry, who had apparently been lost in his thoughts, flinched and blinked confusedly. "We're going to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" Harry sputtered. "Why?" He hadn't been back to Hogwarts since he finished helping rebuild.

"Slughorn lost his only golden cauldron." Malfoy glanced back down to the file and Harry stared at his sharp jawline. "Apparently there have been other Aurors looking, but they searched everywhere and couldn't find it. Guess we're the new experts on the case."

"If they looked everywhere, then where else could we look?" Harry questioned thoughtfully.

There was a long silence, the two Aurors suddenly not in a hurry to finish the new case. Harry wasn't sure he wanted to go back and knew Malfoy didn't want to be seen at Hogwarts, but it was their job. So, he stood, grabbed his wand, and led the way to the Ministry's Apparation Point with Malfoy following close behind.

Once Harry and Malfoy arrived at Hogwarts, they immediately visited Slughorn's office. As they made their way, they passed many students dressed in the uniforms that Harry used to feel at home in, walking through halls that he used to feel welcome. But, as he walked through the halls once again 8 years after the war, the stares and whispers and memories made it feel foreign and dark. He pushed the feeling to the back of his head and focused on the job.

Slughorn was delighted to see Harry again. However, as they interviewed the professor, he glanced at Malfoy periodically with an uncomfortable look on his face.

"Sir," Harry said after a particularly long stare at Malfoy from Slughorn. "Can you please answer my question? I only have a few left."

"Why does he have to be here?" The nervous man ignored Harry's comment, aiming a death glare towards Malfoy.

"He's my partner, Professor. We both have to be here legally." Harry answered carefully. This wasn't the first time an interviewee had treated Malfoy this way. "Plus, he's really smart. Couldn't do half the job without him." Harry added with a smile. Malfoy gave Harry an incredulous look at the compliment. Harry shrugged back, it was true after all.

Slughorn didn't stop making faces at Malfoy, but he answered all the questions they asked about his missing cauldron. Harry and Malfoy left his office to figure out what to do.

"Sounds like the last Aurors checked everywhere like they said in the report." Malfoy hummed in distracted agreement, looking around the hall they were in.

"Not _everywhere_." And he took off before Harry could ask what he meant.

Harry followed Malfoy, finding it difficult to match the taller man's fast pace. "M-Malfoy." Harry called, "Can you slow down?"

"Oh stop complaining Potter we're almost there," Malfoy assured. He still slowed so Harry could catch up and walk at his side.

"Where are we going?"

"Think - what's the one place at Hogwarts that not many people know about. Where everything lost always ends up?"

Harry knew instantly where they were headed.

***

The Room of Requirement looked almost bare compared to the number of things that it held before the War, but there were still hundreds of piles that accumulated in the eight years after it was set on fire.

Harry and Malfoy split up, deciding it might take longer if they argued the whole time as usual. 

"Potter! Found it!" Malfoy yelled from across the room after a few hours of searching. Harry dropped the birdcage that he was examining and sprinted over towards the voice.

Malfoy held up the golden cauldron triumphantly with a grin on his face. "Thank Merlin, I thought we'd be here all day." Harry walked over and took the cauldron, shrunk it, and stored it in one of his robes' huge pockets.

When he finished, he looked back to Malfoy. The man was obviously deep in thought - he bit his lip absentmindedly and stared into the distance. Harry waited, not wanting to interrupt whatever was going through his mind. He knew Malfoy had bad memories in this room as well.

"I…never thanked you." Malfoy quietly spoke up after a few minutes of silence. He didn't move his eyes from whatever they rested on.

Harry scrunched his eyebrows, confused at the sudden sentimental tone from his partner. "For what?"

Malfoy paused at the question, before answering, "For saving my life."

Harry almost laughed at how serious Malfoy was being. "Oh, it's no big deal. Slughorn can be annoying, but he's not life-threatening."

"No, not from Slughorn." Harry finally turned around to see what Malfoy was staring out and found the tallest pile of stuff in the room. It took a few moments for Harry to connect the dots, but when he did, he knew exactly what Malfoy meant.

"Well, you saved me. It was the least I could do." Harry sympathized.

Malfoy looked at Harry with a blank face other than the slight tremor of his chin. "Was it?"

The two men stood in a thick silence, staring at each other and full of thought. Neither Harry nor Malfoy needed to say anything for both of them to know something between them has changed. Suddenly, a slight movement above Harry caught his eye and he looked up to find the last thing he would think of at the moment: a mistletoe growing out of the ceiling.

Fucking Room of Requirement.

Harry hesitated. He wanted to, absolutely wanted to. But it wasn't the right time. Of course this room would ruin their emotional moment. "Erm, Malfoy…"

"What? What's wrong?" Malfoy replied softly with a worried face.

"Not to alarm you, but there's a mistletoe." He awkwardly pointed upwards, although Malfoy could've probably guessed the plant would be above them rather than anywhere else.

"Bloody hell, this room," Malfoy muttered, glancing up at the still growing mistletoe. "Ruined our moment."

Harry chuckled, suddenly feeling comfortable with the other man. "You know, it doesn't have to _ruin_ it."

Malfoy choked immediately and looked at Harry incredulously. "I-I…"

Harry took a cautious step forward and lifted his eyebrow, "You, you?" He knew he might be taking a huge jump, but he didn't expect Malfoy, a usually very controlled person, to promptly turn around and run away without another word.

Once Harry was the only person in the room, he sighed and glared at the retreating mistletoe. "All your fault."

***

Harry knew Malfoy never missed work. Well, apparently unless a mistletoe happens to grow over his and his Auror partner's heads. It's been two days and Kingsley has buried Harry in other people's paperwork as some sort of punishment. His desktop was covered in files and papers, there was practically no wood showing. Harry almost smiled, knowing how much Malfoy would yell at him for the mess. If he was there.

Harry groaned frustratingly and decided he needed a change of scenery to get more done. He couldn't keep thinking about his absent partner every time he glanced at the empty desk across the room.

He gathered all his things and walked slowly to the library, not wanting to spend the rest of his day once again going through dozens of cases. Once he arrived, he walked to the very back for privacy and set the stack of files on the table.

Before Harry sat, he glanced at the table next to him and froze when he saw a familiar blonde head. "Malfoy?" He said incredulously.

Malfoy's head whipped around, his eyes wide. He stood suddenly and began to walk in the opposite direction, but Harry was faster and grabbed his wrist before he could storm off and miss more work.

"What's the fucking problem?" Harry hissed, "Why are you avoiding me?" Harry's face softened as he asked the question; if Malfoy was facing Harry, he could easily tell that Harry's irritation went way further than having to do more paperwork.

Malfoy stilled at the contact and his head gently dipped as he stared at the ground, thinking. But Harry didn't let go - he never wanted to let go in case he lost him again. Once the silence became unbearable, Malfoy whipped around with an unreadable expression on his face. Before Harry could question the man's behavior, he was pushed against the nearest bookshelf and his hands were pinned above his head by Malfoy's surprisingly strong grip. A squeak escaped Harry's throat at the sudden movement, but he didn't dare say anything more in case Malfoy had more terrifying agility in him.

"The problem is," Malfoy whispered gently as he leaned in so close that Harry could feel the tip of the other boy's nose brushing against his own, "I couldn't stop thinking about kissing you since the Room of Requirement." Harry let out a shuddering breath at the confession and closed his eyes at the feel of Malfoy's hot breath landing on his open lips. "But if I do," Harry's tongue darted out to wet his lips, anticipation mixed with heat flooding through his body. Suddenly, Harry could feel a pair of soft lips hovering millimeters above his own, "I don't think I'd be able to stop."

And with that, Malfoy pushed away from the bookshelf and walked out of the aisle, leaving Harry breathless from the quick and intense interaction.

***

The yearly Christmas Ministry Ball finally arrived and brought with it looming sadness across the Aurors office. Every Auror was required to attend the Ball, which meant they couldn't rest after their usually exhausting day - but, of course, Malfoy and Harry did not have that problem. Both men spent the day finishing up the last bit of their punishment. Harry was surprised Malfoy actually showed up to work when just a day ago he did something so bold. Yet he didn't get any explanation or even a conversation at all. Malfoy was disappointedly quiet the whole day other than the necessary few words every hour or so.

Harry's frustration grew quickly. They couldn't continue like this forever - they were Auror partners. And it wasn't like Kingsley would even consider letting them switch partners after their fuck up.

But he didn't say anything. He was afraid of scaring Malfoy away again, and he still didn't know what was going on with the man, especially after his confession in the library.

As Harry packed his things to leave for the day, Malfoy cleared his throat to get his attention. "Erm, good luck on your speech tonight."

Harry's mouth almost dropped in surprised, but he luckily was able to stop himself and utter out, "Thanks," before hurrying out of the office. He didn't know why the interaction scared him so much, but he was ready to get home and make a very strong cup of tea before going to the Ball.

***

The Ministry's Christmas Ball was extravagant as ever. Elegant age-old holiday tunes were played from the small orchestra on the stage in the middle of the room, the ceiling reflected the beautiful snowy sky that was outside at the moment (an aspect that made Harry nostalgic of the Great Hall), and everybody invited wore their best gowns and robes. 

For the second time ever, Harry was asked to make the introduction speech at the Ball. He gripped his cards nervously until it was time for him to step in front of the microphone on stage. He hated public speaking.

Harry's eyes scanned the crowd that started to gather around the stage and took a deep breath before beginning, "Well, happy Christmas everyone, and welcome to the annual Ministry Ball." The audience replied with polite applause and occasional whooping. Harry took a steadying breath and continued, "I don't know about the other departments, but I do know that this year at the Auror's office has been a difficult one - from catching the last Death Eater" He motioned to the pair of Aurors that took over his and Malfoy's case. The pair succeeded in finding the Death Eater, something he was sure he and Malfoy would never have been able to do, "to finding a missing school supply in the Hogwarts Room of Requirement." The audience chuckled and Harry finally spotted the unmistakable bright hair that belonged to his partner. "But, to me, with difficulty comes great revelations.

"A few months ago, I got to know someone that I would never think I'd even want to say a nice word towards." Malfoy met Harry's eyes, knowing who he was talking about. "But, I learned a lot. I learned that this person was not at all who I thought he was - that, although I knew him for years and years, I never really _knew_ him. But once I started to, I realized I was missing out all those years I thought I hated him." 

Harry's eyes ripped away from Malfoy and glazed across the crowd, suddenly no longer nervous about the speech. "From that experience, I gave myself a Christmas gift: learning to not be hesitant anymore. I encourage you all, especially as employees of the Ministry, to move past your hesitancies. Maybe you can realize what you never thought was possible.

"Anyways, I'm not up here for a motivational speech. Tonight, we're here for celebration." Harry picked up the glass of champagne that appeared on the podium in front of him, lifting it up in toast, "Here's to happy holidays and yet another fantastic year in the Ministry of Magic." His audience raised their glasses, clinking the ones nearby. Harry caught Draco's eye once again and raised his glass higher as the other man copied.

Once Harry stepped down from the stage and the music continued, he was surrounded by appraising wizards and witches. He plastered on a smile and tried to talk to everyone, knowing he'd be completely exhausted by the time the Ball was over. Maybe he shouldn't have taken the speech offer.

"Nice speech." A familiar voice from behind Harry in the crowd complimented. Harry spun around to find Malfoy with a nervous smile decorating his face.

Harry's smile widened and he ignored the old witch trying to talk to him. "Thank you."

The witch finally left and Malfoy and Harry were alone. "Except, maybe, you know hesitancy might be a good thing." Malfoy took a step towards Harry, slowly closing the distance. "Plunging headfirst into something isn't always the best idea--"

Harry interrupted him with a laugh, "Malfoy, if either one of us had the concept of hesitating, would this be happening?"

Malfoy's face twisted in confusion, obviously not liking this interaction wasn't going as planned. "Would what be happening?"

With an awkward chuckle, Harry pointed to the growing mistletoe above their heads. 

"You're not going to run out again this time right?" He questioned, "I really don't feel like going through another two days of paperwork."

"Oh, it's the paperwork you're worried about?" Malfoy grinned as his eyes met Harry's, sparkling with excitement.

Harry distractedly hummed in agreement and slowly wrapped his hands around Malfoy's waist as he took a step towards the man. Malfoy looked down at Harry and unconsciously licked his lips while he closed his eyes and leaned in. The pair was surrounded by hundreds of dancing witches and wizards, but Harry didn't care - he kissed Malfoy anyway. The kiss was desperate, years of repressed feelings finally being freed into this one single kiss. Malfoy's hands flung up around Harry's neck, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss instantly. Harry groaned as the amble fingers tangled in his messy hair and unconsciously pulled on the strands.

It was Malfoy who pulled away first for a gulp of air. Harry stayed still, his eyes still closed as he focuse on trying to even his breathing rather than the sudden tightness of his trousers. It was only when Malfoy's hands abruptly left Harry's hair when Harry finally decided to open his eyes.

And when he did was when he saw a ruffled man standing before him, his usually gelled down white-blond hair looking messy and his usually pale skin decorated with a pink tinge. The blush deepened when Malfoy began looking around with wide eyes, finally landing on Harry with a warning look.

It was then that Harry realized how quiet the room was compared to before: the air was absent of the orchestral music and the murmur of casual chatting. His eyes shifted off of Malfoy and glanced around them, taking in the crowd of witches and wizards that surrounded them with surprised looks decorating their faces. A quick flash of white light flooded the room, indicating their picture was being taken.

A picture of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, post make-out session…at a Ministry Ball.

Harry looked back towards Malfoy, whose face was painted with pure horror as he came across the same epiphany. He took a hesitant step away from Harry, who quickly stopped the man with a protective hand on the waist. "They're not important," Harry whispered comfortably, closing the distance Malfoy created.

Malfoy took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around Harry's shoulders, taking him in for an affectionate hug. Harry let an easy smile decorate his face as he closed his eyes and turned his attention away from the flashing cameras and quiet murmur surrounding them, and towards the warm body pressed against his own and the fluttering heartbeat against his chest.


End file.
